Online vs the local store,,,

[nikon_sam]

Samy's camera in Pasadena in 30 miles one way and Freestyle in Santa Fe Springs a bit further...if I'm ever in the area I do stop by...
Last time I stopped at Samy's I bought a tripod QR mount (decent price & exactly what I wanted) and a camera strap (not a bad price but not exactly what I wanted) I bought the strap since I was there. Had I been shopping on-line I would have purchased the exact strap I wanted...
Now, years ago when I was putting together a 4x5 kit from Calumet Camera I had a problem with a wide angle bellows while on location...I had to reglue one edge in order to continue shooting...I returned it to them since it had a Lifetime warranty, they replaced it with a better designed bellows but wanted to charge me for it since I altered the first one...I explained what I had to do and that they wouldn't have been able to replace the faulty one overnight so I could continue shooting...I had to corner the store manager at a local convention and speak loud enough that I caught his attention as to
my situation and his store policy...he confirmed that the part should be under warranty only after my rant...I've never been question about faulty gear by KEH when dealing with them by phone or on-line...
I guess we all have different circumstance whether it's Brick & Mortar or Internet...

 

[rfaspen]

I worked in a camera store when I was a younger lad. It was a great experience, a learning experience, and I can tell you there's quite a community that forms around a good camera store. Fast forward to now..... all gone. I'm not terribly happy with the direction the world has taken. My community is now RFF!!!

Before my local (recent) camera store closed. I tried to frequent and buy there as much as possible. I was frank with the owner and other customers.....I always attempt to support a local business whenever it is within my means (that extends beyond camera stores BTW). We all know that it comes down to price point among other things. I will pay a premium for my local store that has personal attention and other benefits. There is a limit to the premium. I believe my local camera store owner did his best to address that, and we both know its not our relationship that led to the demise of the business. It was interesting getting down to the specific nitty-gritty of just what my economic position is (was).

But, I wish we had a camera store. One with film and chemistry, a selection of used gear, some new stuff of interest, a customer base of other committed photographers. But I'm dreaming. That's in the past and will not likely come back.

 

[Huss]

I've wanted to support my local store, but after they didn't reward my support with decent service I only use them for small ticket items.
Seeing you asked, the guilty party was Samy's Camera in Los Angeles (Fairfax). I bought a Leica from them that needed warranty service (the sensor..) a few months later. How did they reward my loyalty? They wanted to charge me over $100 to ship the camera to Leica NJ for warranty repair. The store I bought it from. And I quote "why should we pay for shipping?"
I told them in no uncertain terms that I'd be making all my future purchases from B&H and save on tax.
Anyway, I took the Leica to the recently opened LeicaStore in west LA, where they took care of everything including shipping. So there you have it. Brick and mortar stores still need to earn our business.

 

[johannielscom]

The store in my city (yes there's only one on 67K inhabitants) is good at passport photos, printing, selling brands that are heavily pushed by their dealerships (Panasonic, Fuji) and selling picture frames and canvasses. You can't talk camera there, they simply don't know anything outside consumer market or outside what their brands sales representative told them. Hardly any historical knowledge either, while they've had the shop for at least 2 decades. To me that spells they are sellers but no photographers.

The next city (30km) is Groningen, which is 150K inhabitants. Has two specialty stores where they know their stuff. The small one in city center has decent occasions but on new gear is understocked due to size, the bigger pro one (only selling current state of the art press gear, no occasions etc) is on the outskirts and easily accessible by car but I don't drive...

To me it would be bliss to have multiple shops with knowledgable folk in the city where I live!

 

[Dogman]

The days of local camera shops are pretty much gone in small to medium sized cities. There were two stores in my city when I moved here forty years ago, both very good shops with knowledgeable staff. They're both long gone.

Truthfully, I don't really miss them. Before the last store closed, it had already mostly moved away from photography and into decorative home furnishings. Their photo section was about the same as the local Target or Walmart and there was no one on staff with any real photo expertise. I had stopped shopping there long ago.

I prefer shopping online from companies like Amazon and B&H. I can get information on products by researching websites for features, reviews and opinions from forums. Furthermore, I can do this without being subjected to obnoxious people with their cell phones and self-centered attitudes.

 

[grouchos_tash]

There used to be a couple of places with the same owner within 11 miles from me that had everything (13 years ago). Now there is a small place for film developing and a small selection of film about 20 miles away, a guy who repairs cameras (including Leica!) 45 miles away, but the nearest shop for developer/film/paper etc would be 80 miles away. There might be others, but unless they have an online presence I won't know about them.

I've never found any of the advantages going to a store that people have mentioned. I went to the film developing desk in boots a few months ago, handed over a roll of 35mm and the girl asked me what it was :/

 

[cz23]

Chicago has one general camera store left and Tamarkin for Leica products. But city sales tax is 10.25%. On a $7K Leica body, that's quite a premium for whatever benefits a physical shop offers. It's certainly enough to send me to B&H or Amazon. Although the latter recently started charging sales tax in IL.

The thing I feel bad about for shops is the likely percentage of customers who come in to handle cameras, knowing they will go home and order online.

John

 

[oltimer]

In Canada we have absurd taxes. I buy all my film from B&H, and delivery to me in Northern Ontario is 4 days. The saving cost on film is huge. For eg; a roll of 120 Ektar in Canada is around $19.99 Can plus shipping. Out of New York with exchange for under $8.00 each. I always spend over their min to get the free shipping. Recently on X series Fuji camera, even with the sale on; it was "way" cheaper to buy locally, and I get to study and feel the item.

 

[nikonhswebmaster]

Ken Hansen's store on broadway, NYC, is closed long ago.

 

[Spanik]

There is still a small photoshop/photographer a couple km further but apart from a few generic things that's where the shop stops. If I go a few cities further then I can find a store where they have a few rolls of film and maybe a few behind the counter are knowledgable about one or two brands. If I need film, chemicals, several brands of cameras, rental and more then I need to go again a few cities further. And each time there is a single one around.

So it isn't impossible but when you work and your free time only overlap the shop opening times for a couple of hours on saturday afternoon then it gets hard. Certainly if you have to drive 3 times over to get what you want: first to order, then to go and discover it isn't in even if they told you it would be there and then again 3 months later to get your stuff. Compare that to order online and having it delivered a couple days later.

 

[Out to Lunch]

As a perpetual expat online buying is a blessing.

 

[Bill Pierce]

Ken Hansen's store on broadway, NYC, is closed long ago.

It was the place. Is it true he opened a store or mail service in Florida when he left NY?

 

[benlees]

Supported local today. Fixed my enlarger; haven't printed in years, so was eager to start. Got some Ilford product which was the same price as Freestyle et al. Except, of course, no shipping, no surprise fees, and no waiting! Can't get Arista locally, however, or other more interesting stuff, so online has its place.😀

 

[huddy]

I lost my local store two years ago so my closest local store is Precision camera in Austin. I don't go often, but I do by the occasional lens cleaning cloth or a few rolls of color film here and there as I want to shoot it.

 

[nikonhswebmaster]

It was the place. Is it true he opened a store or mail service in Florida when he left NY?

He tried various locations, couldn't keep track of them, but he is back in the city, with a large eBay presence. http://stores.ebay.com/Ken-Hansen-Photographic

IMO, no store has ever equaled Ken's, at least in NYC.

There are some friendly, and knowledgeable, small stores, and the Leica store in SOHO is interesting, but still just a shadow of those years.

My comment was a meant in a tongue in cheek way, Ken is not all that is missing of course, Marty Forscher seems the greatest loss. Prices are good, but I just don't relate much to the current stores.

 

[robert blu]

For what concerns cameras and lenses I'm very lucky compared to what I read in this thread: downtown Milan, 1/2 hr by train from where I live are at least 3 good shops + a Leica store (one of the shop is my reference point).
But when I need film I usually buy on line not because of the price but because easier to find the films I like, shops have not a large inventory.

So, at the end by now I'm lucky enough 🙂

robert

 

[Dwig]

I don't have any real choice. The nearest true camera shop is roughly 4hrs drive north, up on the mainland.

For me, though, its not much of a loss. I visit stores when I come across them when traveling, but I don't buy much these days as I shoot digital and don't suffer from GAS, which is fortunate since I'm semi-retired on a somewhat limited income. It's the price of living where I only needed a long sleeve overshirt while wearing lightweight shorts this evening (Jan 9th) when I walked home from work.

 

[sepiareverb]

What local camera store? I purchased from the one 45 minutes away till it was gone, then purchased from the one an hour and fifteen minutes away till it was gone (I had the college I worked for at the time buy out all their used darkroom stock) and purchased from any other local-ish store (that I could drive to and from in less than most of a day) till there was only one left who can't sell me what I use for less than I can get it delivered to my door. I appreciate buying local- and eat 75% locally grown food, drink 50% locally distilled or brewed alcohol, and 99% locally roasted coffe - but can't sustain "locally"purchased supplies at my price plus a mark-up and gas money.

That ship has sailed for most all of us. Nice while it lasted, back when sales tax was less than shipping I was all over it. I purchased all the Insignia paper and Viradon toner for a huge number of edition prints for a big NYC gallery exhibit via the "local" Agfa rep and drove 2 hours each way to pick it up where Agfa could deliver it. I suspect if one is living outside of NYC or LA or another megalopolis/big city buying photographic supplies locally ended about six or seven years ago, for those of us in rural america it ended before the turn of the century.

I can drive an hour and forty minutes (one way) and buy only the basic supplies I might be able to use for more than I can have them delivered: single rolls of some 120 or 135 film, negative pages, B&W RC paper. My normal supplies come in from B&H, Sprint, Freestyle or Fotoimpex. If I had to purchase what I could buy via a car I'd be screwed. On foot, I'd have to be a painter. A nice thought, but not a viable means of working, and I doubt it ever will be again.

When I am in a city where I can purchase from a shop I do. Just bought some film when in Boston from an RFF supporter shop. Asked them for a recommendation for a lab to run color, and I will try them with that roll and some more when I get enough to justify mailing out color film. Us film shooters are few and far enough between that we can't support the small shops, and as much as I'd love to, I just can't afford to keep someone else in the green if it means I need to do without.

 

[kb244]

Such stores are already just about gone around here.

The last diverse, full service photography store within a 20 mile radius closed last October. Now going to a 'local' store worth shopping at means a 100 mile round trip drive to San Francisco at the least.

Same here. The last store in this area that had a large variety of film gear, particularly rangefinders and so forth was Camera Center LLC which I worked for until it went out of business in December of 2007.

Any remaining ones or new ones (ie: Mark's, Norman's) has shifted over completely to new digital, with once in a blue moon a very small case of consignment items which are barely worth it (mostly 90s-ish consumer SLRs with third party lens).

One of the gripes my old coworkers would mention is that you would have some consumers come in to pick our brains as to what they needed, what was good, etc. But then they'd go off and get the closest thing they could thru Best Buy, Amazon, or in general one of the online shops. Most of this kind of advice only exists on forums like this one, or blogs/youtube, etc now days rather than in the shops.

We tried for the course of 2 years or so, to shift a lot of sales online, particularly with ebay and such, basically photographing everything quite well and having to stipulate some strict terms for international sales (Which was a good portion of it). It didn't help when eBay changed their feedback policy to not allow buyers to receive anything other than positive feedback. Or when a single dispute would cause a penalty just before the christmas seasons to limit you to sales no greater than 75% of your last 3 months (which is low sales in summer, and you can't make more than 75% of that for the winter months?)

 

[dmc]

The store in my city (yes there's only one on 67K inhabitants) is good at passport photos, printing, selling brands that are heavily pushed by their dealerships (Panasonic, Fuji) and selling picture frames and canvasses. You can't talk camera there, they simply don't know anything outside consumer market or outside what their brands sales representative told them. Hardly any historical knowledge either, while they've had the shop for at least 2 decades. To me that spells they are sellers but no photographers.

The next city (30km) is Groningen, which is 150K inhabitants. Has two specialty stores where they know their stuff. The small one in city center has decent occasions but on new gear is understocked due to size, the bigger pro one (only selling current state of the art press gear, no occasions etc) is on the outskirts and easily accessible by car but I don't drive...

To me it would be bliss to have multiple shops with knowledgable folk in the city where I live!

Please enjoy the 30 Km trip. In my city (1.2 million) we have 3 dedicated photo shops. Only 1 is a full line, full service store. The next city with any photo store is 300 Km away, and the next one after that is 1,000 Km away. Thank god you live in holland and not western Canada. 😉


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